Eurofighter Typhoon

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter.

The aircraft's development began in 1983 with the Future European Fighter Aircraft programme, a multinational collaboration among the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Previously, Germany, Italy and the UK had jointly developed and deployed the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft and desired to collaborate on a new project with additional participating EU nations. However, disagreements over design authority and operational requirements led France to leave the consortium to develop the Dassault Rafale independently. A technology demonstration aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, first flew on 6 August 1986; a Eurofighter prototype made its maiden flight on 27 March 1994. The aircraft's name, Typhoon, was adopted in September 1998 and the first production contracts were also signed that year.

The sudden end of the Cold War reduced European demand for fighter aircraft which led to debate over the aircraft's cost, division of work between the partner nations, and protracted development. The Typhoon entered operational service in 2003 and is now in service with the air forces of Austria, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have also ordered the aircraft, bringing the procurement total to 680 aircraft . Dornier collaborated with Northrop in the US on an acclaimed but unsuccessful design known as the . MBB was successful, with a design including a cranked delta wing, close-coupled-canard controls, and artificial stability.

In 1979, MBB and British Aerospace (BAe) presented a formal proposal to their respective governments for a collaboration, to be known as the European Collaborative Fighter, |group=N a single-engined lightweight fighter, superficially resembling the future Saab JAS 39 Gripen and the twin-engine P.110. The RAF rejected the P.106 concept on the grounds it had "half the effectiveness of the two-engined aircraft at two-thirds of the cost."

The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement – BAe (33%), DASA (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).

The Munich-based Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH was established in 1986 to manage development of the project

By 1990, the selection of the aircraft's radar had become a major obstacle. The UK, Italy and Spain supported the Ferranti Defence Systems-led ECR-90, while Germany preferred the APG-65-based MSD2000 (a collaboration between Hughes, AEG and GEC-Marconi). An agreement was reached after UK Defence Secretary Tom King assured his West German counterpart Gerhard Stoltenberg that the British government would approve the project and allow the GEC subsidiary Marconi Electronic Systems to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its parent, the Ferranti Group, which was in financial and legal difficulties. GEC thus withdrew its support for the MSD2000. On 17 June 2009, Germany ordered 31 aircraft of Tranche 3A for €2.8billion, leading to a system cost of €90million per aircraft.

Upgrades

In 2000, the UK selected the Meteor from MBDA as the long range air-to-air missile armament for its Typhoons with an in-service date of December 2011.

The Luftwaffe ordered 15 ECR electronic warfare aircraft conversions for the Luftgestützte Wirkung im Elektromagnetischen Spektrum (luWES) requirement in March 2022. The 15 Typhoon EK model are to be transformed from existing German Typhoons and are to equipped with AGM-88E AARGM Anti-radiation missiles. The aircraft are expected to be NATO-certified by 2030.

The Tranche 4PE is a further development package aiming at integrating improved missiles (Meteor, Taurus, AMRAAM, GBU, JDAM).

Replacement

Germany is to replace the Eurofighter with the New Generation Fighter (NGF), co-developed with France and Spain. The quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system manages the inherent instability, allowing better maneuverability than direct pilot control. It is described as "carefree" and prevents the permitted manoeuvre envelope being exceeded. Roll control is primarily achieved by differential use of the flaperons. Pitch control is by coupled operation of the canards and flaperons. The wing leading edges are fitted with automatic movable slats. A single large rudder provides yaw control.

Radar signature reduction features

thumb|[[S-duct-like air intake partially conceals engine fans, a major source of radar wave reflection]]

Although it is not considered a stealth fighter, measures were taken to reduce the Typhoon's radar cross section (RCS), especially from the frontal aspect. For example, the Typhoon has jet inlets that conceal the front of the engines, a strong radar target, from radar. Many important potential radar targets, such as the wing, canard, and fin leading edges, are highly swept so they will reflect radar energy well away from the front. Some external weapons are mounted semi-recessed into the aircraft, partially shielding them from incoming radar.

The AESA radar program for the Eurofighter is now split into three European Common Radar System (ECRS) variants:

ECRS Mk0: also called Radar One Plus, this is the baseline Captor-E model which was developed by Leonardo. Hardware development is complete and it is fitted to aircraft delivered to Kuwait and Qatar.
ECRS Mk1: an upgrade of the Mk0 being developed by Hensoldt/Indra, for Germany and Spain. In July 2009, Former Chief of Air Staff for the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, said that "The Eurofighter Typhoon is an excellent aircraft. It is to be the backbone of the Royal Air Force along with the JSF."

In his 2022 book Typhoon, former RAF pilot Mike Sutton reported that his 27 mm cannon had jammed during a strafing run in Syria, against ISIS targets, while supporting Allied ground units. According to his book, the Typhoon was originally intended to be built without an internal gun, like the F-4 Phantom and the Harrier jump jet. A decision to install an internal gun had led to "manufacturing issues". Sutton claimed that, during his strafing run, the gun jammed after 26 rounds, with the HUD showing a "GUN FAIL" warning legend. During the debrief it transpired that the problem was well known to both the pilots and ground crews.

{| class="wikitable"

! Weapon

! Users

!Guns

|Mauser BK-27 autocannon (27mm)

|Germany, Spain, Italy, UK, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman

! colspan="2" |Air-to-air missiles

|ASRAAM

|UK

|IRIS-T

|Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Saudi Arabia

|AIM-9L Sidewinder

|Germany, Spain, Italy, UK, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Oman

| AIM-120 AMRAAM

|Germany, Spain, Italy, UK, Saudi Arabia, Oman

|MBDA Meteor

|UK, Germany, Spain, Italy

! colspan="2" |Air-to-surface missiles

| Taurus KEPD 350

|Germany, Spain

| Storm Shadow

|UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia

| Brimstone II

|UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia

! colspan="2" |Air-to-surface guided bombs

| Paveway II (GBU-10) 2,000 lb bomb

|Spain

| Paveway II (GBU-16) 1,000 lb bomb

|UK, Spain, Oman

| Paveway II (GBU-48) 1,000 lb bomb

|UK, Germany, Spain, Saudi Arabia

| Paveway IV

|UK, Saudi Arabia

|Joint Direct Attack Munition (GBU-54)

|Germany

Operational history

Austrian Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte)

thumb|left|[[Austrian Air Force Eurofighter 7L-WA in flight to Zeltweg Air Base, July 2007]]

In 2002, Austria selected the Typhoon as its new air defence aircraft, it having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition. The move was criticized due to the "secondhand" nature of the aircraft, its high operational cost, and past legal dispute between Austria Defence Ministry and Airbus.

German Air Force (Luftwaffe)

thumb|Luftwaffe Eurofighter 30+25 departing RIAT, July 2019

On 4 August 2003, the German Air Force accepted its first series production Eurofighter (30+03) starting the replacement process of the Mikoyan MiG-29s inherited from the East German Air Force.

German Eurofighters took part in Exercise Tarang Shakti held by the Indian Air Force from 6 August 2024.

During NATO's Steadfast Dart 26 exercise in February 2026, the German Eurofighter Typhoon and the Turkish Baykar Bayraktar TB3 conducted joint military training operations in the Baltic region. The Bayraktar TB-3 launched from the Turkish Naval Forces drone carrier TCG Anadolu to provide real-time intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTR) for the Eurofighter Typhoons using its Aselsan ASELFLIR 500 EOTS. After the Bayraktar TB-3 struck its own targets with two MAM-L precision-guided munitions, the UCAV also successfully identified simulated hostile targets for the German Eurofighter Typhoons to engage with precision strikes by the multirole fighter. Both aircraft completed manned-unmanned teaming joint missions to demonstrate successful platform integration and NATO standardization compliance. Kuwait subsequently extended its contract with Leonardo for in-service support of the Eurofighter fleet until December 2029.

Qatar Emiri Air Force

From January 2011 the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) evaluated the Typhoon, alongside the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, the Dassault Rafale, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, to replace its then inventory of Dassault Mirage 2000-5s. On 30 April 2015 Qatar announced that it would order 24 Rafales. In October 2025, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his interest in acquiring all 24 of Qatar's used Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A aircraft.

Royal Air Force (UK)

thumb|Typhoon T1 ZJ800 of [[No. 17 Squadron RAF|No. XVII (R) Squadron at RAF Waddington, June 2004. This was the first RAF full production aircraft to fly.]]

The UK's first Typhoon Development Aircraft (DA-2) ZH588 made its maiden flight on 6 April 1994 from Warton. During this one-month deployment the aircraft conducted more than 180 practice intercepts and 59 training sorties.

Between April and September 2020, No. 6 Squadron deployed to Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania, as part of Operation Azotize. On 14 December 2021 the RAF executed its first operational air-to-air engagement with a Typhoon, shooting down a small hostile drone with an ASRAAM near the Al-Tanf coalition base in Syria.

On 7 September 2022 during the joint UK/US SinkEx 'Atlantic Thunder' a 41 Squadron Typhoon successfully hit the ex- with Paveway IVs, becoming the first RAF Typhoon to strike a naval target with live ordnance.

Between 18 and 22 September 2023, Typhoons from 41 Squadron took part in the Finnish led Exercise ‘Baana 23’. During this exercise, the aircraft performed landings and takeoffs from a highway in Tervo, marking a first for any Eurofighter operator.

On 12 January 2024, at 2:30 am local time, four RAF Typhoons dropped Paveway IV bombs on two military facilities, used by Houthis to launch drone and missile strikes on ships in the Red Sea, as a part of the 2024 Yemeni airstrike. On 13 April 2024, RAF Typhoons shot down an unspecified number of unmanned aerial vehicles during the 2024 Iranian strikes in Israel. The Typhoons, based in Cyprus and Romania, were operating in Iraqi and Syrian airspace as part of Operation Shader.

Royal Air Force of Oman

During the 2008 Farnborough Airshow it was announced that Oman was in an "advanced stage" of discussions to order Typhoons as a replacement for its SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft.

Spanish Air and Space Force

thumb|Spanish Eurofighter Tifón C.16–44 of 142 Escuadrón, May 2016

The first Spanish production Eurofighter Tifón to fly was CE.16-01 (ST001) on 17 February 2003, flying from Getafe Air Base. The aircraft are due to replace Tranche 1 aircraft currently in service, with the first airframe being announced as in production in November 2022. Deliveries are due to take place from 2025.

In March 2022, the German government announced the decision to purchase Typhoon EK over the Boeing EA-18G Growler to replace the ageing Tornado ECR variant from 2030. On 30 November 2023, the Budget Committee of the Bundestag formally announced the plans to convert 15 Typhoons to Electronic Warfare standard.

On 5 June 2024, it was announced that an additional 20 Typhoons would be ordered on top of the 38 already on order. This order was approved in October 2025.

Italy

On 23 December 2024, an order worth €7.5 billion was placed for 24 aircraft. The contract is for 16 single-seat and four twin-seat airframes, all at Tranche 4 standard. These aircraft are expected to replace the EF-18 Hornets of Ala 46, based at Gando Air Base on the Canary Islands.

Halcon II followed on 12 September 2023 for the acquirement of a further 25 Typhoons.

Saudi Arabia

In October 2016, it was reported that BAE Systems was in talks with Saudi Arabia over an order for another 48 aircraft. On 9 March 2018, a memorandum of intent for the additional 48 Typhoons was signed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the United Kingdom.

In January 2024, the German government announced that it would no longer block the sale of 48 Typhoons to Saudi Arabia. there has been no official confirmation that the sale will go ahead as other aircraft have been considered to strengthen the Royal Saudi Air Force's combat fleet.

Egypt

In January 2023, reports surfaced that Egypt would acquire 24 Typhoons as part of a wider $10–12 Billion arms package from Italy.

Turkey

right|thumb|British Prime Minister Starmer and Turkish President Erdoğan in Ankara, October 2025

Although the jets were initially offered back in 2006, including a local assembly offer, Turkish Air Force opted to join the F-35 development. Germany initially was blocking the sale of the aircraft to Turkey, but in 2024, Scholz approved the potential sale of 40 Eurofighters to Turkey.

An agreement was signed in October 2025 to purchase 20 fighters from the UK for £8 billion, including infrastructure, maintenance and systems. Of which, £5.4 billion for the aircraft and munitions. Furthermore, 24 additional second-hand units are to be acquired from Qatar and Oman.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh signed a Letter of Intent with Leonardo to begin talks in regards to the purchase of an unknown number of Eurofighter Typhoons to modernise the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF).

Others

Other countries have expressed interest in the fighter, including Poland, Colombia, Ukraine, and the Philippines.

Failed bids

The following countries have formally eliminated the Typhoon from their fighter programs: Belgium, Denmark, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, India, Croatia, Serbia,and Finland.

Variants

The Eurofighter is produced in single-seat and twin-seat variants. The twin-seat variant is used for training, though it is combat capable.

The Tranche 1 aircraft were produced from 2000 onwards. Aircraft capabilities are being increased incrementally, with each software upgrade resulting in a different standard, known as blocks and also Enhanced Operational Capability (EOS) segments.

The aircraft prototypes were manufactured in three major standards; Development Aircraft (DA), Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA) for further system development, and a Series Production Aircraft.

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! style="border-right:solid 2px black;border-left:solid 2px black;border-bottom:solid 2px black;border-top:solid 2px black;text-align:left" |TOTAL

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Current operators

thumb|upright=1.6|Eurofighter Typhoon operators in blue with orders in cyan

;

Austrian Air Force – 15 delivered. 15 Aircraft to be upgraded to Typhoon EW (Electronic Warfare) standard. An additional 20 aircraft of the Tranche 5 were ordered in October 2025.
Nörvenich Air Base
Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 31 "Boelcke", 311 & 312 Staffel at

;

Italian Air Force – 96 ordered with 96 delivered and 93 in operation An additional 24 aircraft were ordered on 23 December 2024 for €7.5 billion.
Grosseto Air Base, 4º Stormo "Amedeo d'Aosta" (4th Wing)
132° Gruppo Caccia (132nd Fighter Squadron)
Pratica di Mare Air Base, Reparto Sperimentale Volo

;

Kuwait Air Force – 28 ordered – This source is older than March 2024 and lists 13 delivered. -->
Ali Al Salem AB, Al Jahra District
7 Squadron
18 Squadron

;

Royal Air Force of Oman – 12 ordered in December 2012
RAFO Adam, Ad Dakhiliyah
No.8 Squadron

;

Qatar Emiri Air Force – 24 ordered,
Tamim Airbase, Dukhan
7 Squadron
12 Squadron
RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom (from July 2020) On 20 December 2024, the Spanish government has signed a contract with Munich-based, Germany, NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) for the acquisition of additional 25 Eurofighter aircraft known as the Halcon II programme.
Seville-Morón Air Base, Ala 11
111 Escuadrón

;

Royal Air Force – 160 ordered, all of which had been delivered by September 2019.
RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, England
No. 3 (F) Squadron
No. 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron

Accidents

On 21 November 2002, the Spanish twin-seat Typhoon prototype DA-6 crashed due to a double engine flameout caused by surges of the two engines at 45,000 ft. The two crew members escaped unhurt and the aircraft crashed in a military test range near Toledo, some from its base at Getafe Air Base.
On 24 July 2024, an Italian Air Force Typhoon crashed during a military training exercise in the Douglas Daly region of the Northern Territory, Australia, during Exercise Pitch Black. The pilot ejected safely and was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital by helicopter.

Aircraft on display

;Germany

98+29 EF2000 Prototype DA-1 on display at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim, Munich.
98+30 EF2000 Prototype DA-5 on display at the MHM Gatow, currently stored, Berlin-Gatow.
30+39 EF2000 GS0025 on display at the General-Steinhoff barracks, Berlin.

;Italy

MMX602 EF2000 Prototype DA-3 on display at Leonardo Factory Museum, Caselle.
MMX603 EF2000 Prototype DA-7 on display at Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle.

;United Kingdom

ZH588 EF2000 Prototype DA-2 on display at the Royal Air Force Museum London, Hendon, England.
ZH590 EF2000(T) Prototype DA-4 was on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridge, England, in Hangar 3: Air and Sea, and was due to be transferred to the Newark Air Museum in 2020. It now resides at RAF Cosford, however, after the MOD made the decision to use it as an Instructional Airframe.

Specifications

thumb|Eurofighter Typhoon drawings